Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts, under fire for a video he posted defending Tucker Carlson for his friendly interview with white supremacist talker Nick Fuentes, has reassigned his chief of staff to another position.
In an email to the conservative think tank's staff on Friday, Roberts announced that Heritage's executive vice president, Derrick Morgan, had been tapped to replace Ryan Neuhaus as chief of staff, National Review has learned.
In the controversial video posted on X on Thursday, Roberts made clear that Heritage had no plans to distance itself from Carlson, who in addition to hosting Fuentes, said that he hated Christian supporters of Israel (such as Senator Ted Cruz and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee) more than anybody.
Instead, Roberts said that, "The venomous coalition attacking [Carlson] are sowing division."
As the video took heat on social media, Neuhaus added fuel to the fire by reposting a number of messages about the controversy, including one suggesting that any Heritage employees who had problems with the statement should resign.
According to Roberts' email, now Morgan will serve as acting chief of staff through the end of the year and Neuhaus will transition to a senior adviser role in the organization's Simon Center, where he will work on housing and other issues.
"Ryan's energy and acumen will be a great benefit to our efforts to president the intellectual and moral underpinnings of our nation's Founding," Roberts wrote. "I know he will flourish in this new role."
Facing a flood of criticism from prominent conservatives and some Heritage Foundation staffers for the initial video, Roberts released a lengthy follow-up statement on Friday excoriating Fuentes's bigoted statements surrounding women, Jews, black people, child marriage, Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, and Holocaust denialism.
In the all-staff email with the subject line “Heritage’s Stand Against Antisemitism and for Civilizational Truth” Roberts highlighted efforts by the think tank to combat antisemitism, which he said were “central” to their mission as an organization.
At the same time, he wrote that Heritage had adopted a more nuanced approach to Israel.
“Our position on Israel is principled and balanced: there’s a great deal of space between believing Israel can do no wrong and blaming it for every wrong,” he wrote. “That balanced approach resonates with most Americans — even if it makes some in Washington uncomfortable. It’s the standard we apply to every country, save our own.”
He also reiterated that “we are also standing firm against cancel culture” by sticking with Carlson even while disagreeing with Fuentes.
The Heritage Foundation did not immediately respond to National Review's request for comment about the staff shakeup.
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